The First Drug To Treat Smallpox Market Outlook: Ken Research

Smallpox is an extremely contagious infection caused by the Variola virus for which there is no known cure. Symptoms include fever, malaise, abdominal and severe back pain. The last known natural case occurred in Somalia in 1977 and due to worldwide vaccination programs, this disease has been completely eradicated. By 1980 the WHO declared that smallpox had completely been eradicated although government and health agencies still have stashes of smallpox virus for research purposes. Nowadays people no longer receive routine smallpox vaccinations as they can have potentially fatal side effects, so only the people that face a high risk of exposure get the vaccine. According to the study, ‘Smallpox – Pipeline Review, H2 2018’, researchers are still carrying out studies on smallpox and its treatments. Since smallpox virus is deadly and contagious the research projects are carried out under extreme authorization. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with the Russian State Centre for Research on Virology and Biotechnology are the only two labs in the world approved and known to have smallpox virus. Recently the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first drug to treat smallpox.‘Smallpox – Pipeline Review, H2 2018’ This comes as there is a growing concern that the small pox virus may be used in bioterror attacks by terrorists or by people with criminal intentions.

This is the main reason why the FDA gave priority review to TPOXX, asmall-molecule antiviral treatment made by the US based SIGA Technologies Inc. and approval was based on research treating animals infected with viruses that were closely related to the virus causing smallpox. Out of the animals tested, less thanone-tenth died compared to the one-third fatality rate among humans who got infected and did not consume the drug. Until now, smallpox treatment consisted of managing symptoms and treatment with three antivirals that are not proven to treat the disease but have been the best potential line of defense. In addition, the vaccine would be used to prevent the disease from spreading. TPOXX is the first approved treatment specifically initiated for the treatment of this virus. Investigators in the Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology (MVM), at the Baylor College of Medicine in the US, have received funding from several sources to study the immune responses to the smallpox virus and for vaccine development studies. This shows that authorities around the world are still concerned about this disease. MVM scientists have also investigated the vulnerability of the general population to smallpox and found that the discontinuation of the smallpox vaccination program in the early 1970s has reduced immunity to the variola virus in the general population. In another project MVM researchers have applied a new technology to identify the vaccinia virus antigens that are responsible for the anti-smallpox humoral and immunity that grants protection against smallpox infection.

The technology used is called the TAP (Transcriptionally Active PCR) Express TM system and is a tool that allows thousands of antigen genes to be individually amplified so that their biological function or DNA vaccine immunological potency can be quickly analyzed. The goal of this work has been to identify antigens that would be candidates for use in developing new smallpox vaccines.Also, a team led by the virologists of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada are trying to recreate Variola, the small pox causing virus in order to better understand it. All around the world there is growing concern regarding the potentially destructive uses of the smallpox virus. Research institutions, mainly from the US, are constantly trying to develop new drugs and vaccines to combat smallpox. Certain educational institutions are also assisting in the process besides Canadian contributions. For more information on the research report, refer to below link:- review/ html Related Report: html

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